Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Interview with author B Roman

B Roman is an adolescent literature author who incorporates mystical and musical themes in her work. She describes The Secrets of the Moon Singer as “a metaphysical adventure series which involves a deaf teenage boy who comes to realize over time that his ‘disability’ is also his greatest gift. But this realization does not come easily - or even in the first book of the trilogy” Deaf Character David Nickerson is confronted by a series of family crises: his father's unemployment, his deafness after a serious illness and the disappearance of his sister. David begins experimenting with crystals and even conjures up the Moon Singer which takes him on a fantastic journey. In the "other world," David is able to hear. Roman writes, “My character's deafness is not just a plot device, as readers will discover if they stay with me through the many otherworldly journeys the boy makes. The stories speak to unconditional love, family loyalties, dealing with tragic loss, and experiencing unexpected miracles.” This trilogy is how Roman made her debut into young adult fiction.

SP: What made you decide to make David's character deaf or to even
include a deaf character?

BR:In order to answer
that, I have to go back to the beginning, and to how I was inspired to write
the trilogy itself. I don't want to get too metaphysical here, but the
stories have their roots in my delving into spiritual and supernatural
subjects. I actually own a Singer crystal – shaped like a small
sailboat - that inspired the Moon Singer trilogy and its first
adventure, “The Crystal Clipper.” I found this unique crystal at a
crystal workshop one day – actually, it found me – which, it is said, is what
crystals are preordained to do. I would hold the crystal up and ponder it
now and then, and a story began to take hold in my mind. Originally, it
was to be a children's picture book about a little boy and his magic crystal
shaped like a boat that let him sail to magical places. But then it grew
in scope and little by little found its focus.

Young David Nickerson
has come by his own Singer crystal because it was meant for him; he is
the one true owner of the Singer, which gives him all of his powers and
manifests into the Moon Singer ship which takes him on all of his
adventures. David is a hearing impaired young man – normal in every way in his
“real life” – who becomes an "action hero" with extraordinary powers
in worlds he never knew existed, because of his deafness: this is
an important aspect of young David's character which allows me to demonstrate
how he can hear the internal cravings of his soul, understand the hearts and
minds of others, and find his own individual power and strength. Hearing
people who meditate are always instructed to do so in a quiet, silent
environment - "Be still, and know..." David just has to learn
how to use his natural silence for his own growth and knowledge, and so his
"disability" becomes his greatest gift. But he doesn't come by this
knowledge easily or quickly. It takes the three books to solidify.

SP: What type of research did you do for the book to make your characters
realistic?

BR: I've been a
performing artist since I was a child, and in my adult years I also became a
song writer and author of non-fictions books on the power of music. It is
no accident of creativity that my music career would carry over into my story
writing. A strong underlying theme of The Secrets of the Moon Singer and
my other children's stories concerns the power of music to heal, to represent
love and truth, to create and sustain life – or to destroy it. Thus, in "The
Crystal Clipper" we have Princess Saliana whose song has the gift of
healing, and her sacred Rose Crystal Pendant contains the musical codes of
immortality. For David, I researched what kind of illnesses could have
caused him to becomes deaf (he wasn't born that way), what types of hearing
aids and other devices he could use to function normally in life, and what treatments
for his deafness were available - (none of which worked for him, when they
would have for someone else, and why they didn't - but that's a major part of
the storyline).

SP: Do you know any deaf people or have you learned American Sign
Language?

BR: I know a few people
who have hearing impairments, but with the help of hearing aids they are able
to hear quite well. I have a close friend who is a speech therapist who
uses sign language with her deaf clients, most of whom are children. I
have not learned any sign language myself, so my experience with the deaf is
very limited. In fiction, while one can take license with characters and
plots, it is also important to make your stories credible and to treat the
subject matter with respect. One doesn't always have to have a personal
experience to write about it; for example, an author can write a detective
story without having been a detective, but the author still has a
responsibility to do the research required to make the detective
realistic. Although I've placed my main character, David, in far-fetched
situations, I do strive to make him as credible as possible in the way that he
deals with his deafness in both the real world as well as the "other
world."

SP: What do you hope that readers will learn or take away from the
book?

BR: As the adventures
follow David's “coming of age” transformation from a naïve and conflicted boy
to a determined and purposeful young man, readers may find themselves able to
examine their own lives and work through any obstacles that have been holding
them back from realizing their true potential. There is a lot of family angst
going on in the stories, and the characters are constantly learning how to deal
with these relationships. I also touch on topical issues such as respect
for the environment, ethics (or lack thereof) in business, the misuse of power,
the contrast between good and evil, and the importance of personal and
Universal Truth and integrity.

As the stories
developed, I hoped to reach young boys looking for a main character who
triumphed heroically over his circumstances, as well as appeal to young girls
who are looking for a boy who will gallantly protect and selflessly nurture
them, all the while allowing girls to maintain their individuality and strength
of character. For both genders I wanted to create characters they could
respect and whose virtues they would want to emulate.

I realize that teens
today are attracted to pop culture that focuses on dark and violent themes, but
my mind just doesn't go there in storytelling. I hope that my stories
will offer kids a balance, especially if they are just beginning to ponder
ethical, spiritual and metaphysical thoughts and concepts. Of course, I
try to give them an enjoyable, suspenseful, and uplifting reading
experience. It is a trilogy of adventures written to appeal to the youth
in all of us, and with a respect for language and prose that hopefully will
inspire young people to read material that requires time and attention to
spiritual matters.

In contrast, I try to
write very visually. I am a lover of films, especially good films for
kids (of all ages) like E.T., Free Willy, the Black Stallion, etc., that
blend the fantastic with the real and where the young main characters find
their courage to perform selfless acts. From the beginning, I've seen the Moon
Singer trilogy as films because of the many special effects (e.g., a
supernaturally-powered clipper ship made of crystal and gold that can sail
through the cosmos as well as on the sea) written into the books. In fact, I
invite your artistic readers to illustrate and animate my books to their
heart's content; maybe we can collaborate on an illustrated version of my
books, or on a video! Any producers out there?

SP: What advice would you give to young people who are reading your books
for the first time?

BR:The
Secrets of the Moon Singer
books are short, and quick reads. But, they take readers on a continuing
journey through the lives of several key characters that they can relate to
emotionally. Their travails, challenges, joys, and moments of insightful
discovery are those that most people have encountered in their own lives, while
the story environments are those of fantasy.

The main
focus of the trilogy is selfless love and being of service to others. For
David, his quest is always to save a life that means more to him than his own,
and in doing so he delves into questions about his life purpose and soul
mission, while also dealing with very real day-to-day problems.

I'm not
quite sure what age group my books are for. I'm hoping they will bridge
the generations from kids to adults. So, I didn't write "down"
to any age group. I was a voracious reader, especially as a child, and
many of the books I read went far beyond just fare for kids my age - great
American plays, philosophy, psychology, poetry - so I believe even young kids
can absorb sophisticated language. I loved reading and finding new words,
circling them as I read then looking them up in the dictionary and finding new
nuggets of language gold. I still do this.

SP: Since this is part of a Trilogy, can you tell us anything about the
next adventure and will David be the main character?

BR: David Nickerson is
the main character in all the books. Adventure Two: "The War
Chamber" has David trying to process the phenomenal experiences of
Adventure One. As captain of the mystical sailing ship Moon Singer, he
had saved his sister's life on the Island of Darkness, and could miraculously
hear what others could not. Now, as his home town argues over how to revive a
stagnant economy, David despairs that those miracles have dissipated. He
is just as deaf as before, his sister's paralysis has returned, and anguish
over his mother's death is overwhelming. At her gravesite, determined to
communicate with her through his sacred crystal, he is instead transported to a
strange city caught in a time warp between a hi-tech, militant past and a
peaceful, simple way of life. He encounters a revered woman who becomes a
surrogate mother to him and helps him understand how his deafness and his
mother's karmic mission are intertwined.

Throughout all the
twists and turns of plot and story, which become more sophisticated and complex
with each adventure, David struggles with the "reason" for his
deafness, as well as how he and his family deal with the realities of it.
Adventure Three: The Wind Rose, is into technology, Apocalyptic fears,
world-wide disasters, and the power of music as a force of nature.
Ultimately, David learns he must make an extremely difficult decision:
shall he have that operation that will restore his hearing or...? Well, I won't
spoil the surprise ending, for I believe it is yet to take me to places even I
do not anticipate....

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100+ BOOKS and COUNTING LIST (CLICK PICTURE)

_____234 BOOKS ___________ Titles are added as I find them. This is NOT a comprehensive list. I include books that I consider "contemporary" and usually do not include out-of-print or unavailable titles. Sharon Pajka, Ph.D. yadeafcharacters@ gmail.com

New Children's Books with Deaf Characters! (click KIDS ZONE picture)

Adolescent Deaf Characters

Acquiring fictional books that include deaf characters can be time-consuming and challenging for teachers and librarians. The research examining deaf characters in fiction is extremely limited and most of the recent articles focus on children’s literature-- specifically picture books. I hope this Blog assists teachers in recommending books with characters with whom our students can relate. I also hope this Blog assists in recommending books with multiple realities of the D/deaf human experience.

While my primary focus is adolescent and Young Adult chapter books, I will add information about children's literature and adult 'cross-over' texts from time to time.